The Environment and Sustainability Committee writes to Economy Minister Edwina Hart over financing and environmental concerns

An Assembly committee has written to a Minister to seek assurances on the Welsh Government’s plans to ease a notorious M4 bottleneck – after it raised questions over how it would pay for it.

The influential Environment and Sustainability Committee has written to Economy and Transport Minister Edwina Hart seeking answers over six main areas of concern raised during an inquiry it is carrying out into the Welsh Government’s proposals for the M4 around Newport.

Among concerns were that its preferred options were “unnecessarily expensive”, saying there were concerns only half the costs could be financed through new borrowing powers.

It also raises questions over why concerns raised by Natural Resources Wales, the Government’s arms-length environment body, on the environmental impact of the measures were not taken into account in the Government’s final report.

The Welsh Government carried out a consultation, which closed in December, on three main proposals to ease severe congestion around the M4, which includes its preferred “black route” option of building a £1bn three-lane motorway south of Newport.

The consultation also included an alternative “purple route” three-lane option via a slightly different route and a dual carriageway “red route” option, as well as an option of doing nothing more than what is already underway.

Borrowing powers proposed by the UK Government would have an upper limit of £500m.

Committee chair Alun Ffred Jones said in the letter: “We have...heard evidence suggesting that the current proposals are unnecessarily expensive, risking a significant opportunity cost if excessive resources are allocated to the M4 around Newport.

“In particular, it has been suggested that using borrowing powers to fund the scheme would limit the opportunity to use borrowing for other schemes.

“We are aware that the UK Government will provide early access to limited capital borrowing powers in advance of the Wales Bill to invest in the M4.

“However, we note that the Wales Bill Command Paper makes clear that it will provide Welsh Ministers with up to £500m of current borrowing powers from April 2018.

“We also note that the Wales Bill Explanatory Memorandum states that any borrowing under existing powers after the passage of the Bill, explicitly including borrowing for the M4, will count towards the £500m capital borrowing limit.

“We are not clear about how this approach to borrowing powers will affect the delivery of proposals for the M4 around Newport given that the total proposed borrowing limit is approximately half that of the current estimated cost of the scheme.”

It requests that Mrs Hart sets out what portion of the £500m borrowing will fund M4 improvements, and how the rest of the bill - which has been estimated at around £1bn - will be paid.

But the proposals have courted controversy, with severe resistance from environmental groups including the Wildlife Trusts and Friends of the Earth, which claim the proposals would destroy habitats on the Gwent Levels.

The letter, on behalf of all committee members, asks for assurances from Mrs Hart over concerns over how the options were selected and whether it complied with the environmental assessment process, whether the three route options were distinct enough for a meaningful comparison and the contents of an environmental report.

It asks for an explanation as to why NRW’s recommendations in a scoping report were not taken into account in a final environmental report, why that report concluded the impact on biodiversity was a “minor negative” when NRW had said it would be a “major negative” impact and whether it had taken into account other concerns raised by NRW on the content of the environmental report.

It also questioned whether the government has taken into account the effect of its expansive South Wales Metro vision on congestion and whether traffic forecasts used to come to its conclusions were valid, after a number of witnesses questioned how it came to its forecasts.

FSB Wales head of external affairs Iestyn Davies said: “As an organisation that gave evidence to the Environment and Sustainability Committee’s inquiry into an M4 relief road, we will be keen to see the Economy, Science and Transport Minister’s response to this letter, and the many questions that it raises, by the committee’s Friday deadline.”

A Welsh Government spokeswoman said: “The Minister has received the letter and will respond directly to the committee chair in due course.”

Welsh Lib Dem environment spokesman William Powell said: “Congestion on the M4 must be reduced.

"However, a £1bn relief road is not the right way to go about it. There are more cost effective and environmentally friendly ways of relieving pressure on the M4.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe that [blue route] improvements to the existing A48 Southern Distributor Road and the A4810 Steelworks Access Road would help move local traffic off the M4.

"This would form part of a wider strategy to develop transport for the South-East region and would be far more cost-effective.

“As a committee we have concerns with regards to the Welsh Labour Government’s plans to fund an M4 relief road.

"I am proud that Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government have fought to allow Wales to have borrowing powers. However, these significant powers should be used to benefit all of Wales not just one project."

Living Landscape Advocacy Manager at Wildlife Trusts Wales, James Byrne, said: "The committee has asked the Minister to justify why more environmental friendly options such as the blue route promoted by respected transport Professor Stuart Cole, has not been fully considered.

"The blue route would cost a fraction of the estimated £1.25bn that the government's proposals would cost, would be delivered in a fraction of the time and would not have as detrimental impact upon the environment.

"The government's proposals won’t take effect until late 2020s, while Prof Coles could be up and running by 2019. The money freed up could be used to fund other priority projects throughout Wales including more sustainable transport options.

"The committee has also asked the Minister why significant environmental concerns were downplayed and why the consultation ignored expert testimony. There was also significant concern over traffic forecast models used to justify road expansion.

"We urge the Welsh Government to commit to more sustainable transports options, rather than ‘business as usual’ and recognise the need for future generations to have a cleaner and healthier environment."

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